Will Smith

Smith began the season in a timeshare with Austin Barnes. On Aug. 14, he was placed on the IL with a sore neck, slashing just .188/.341/.406 at the time. There were signs Smith would snap out of it as he was only fanning at a 12.2% clip while walking at a 19.5% pace to that point. Smith was back in action after the minimum stay and things began to click. The backstop slashed .329/.427/.646 after returning, playing nearly every day by season's end. He led all catchers over 100 PA with a 163 wRC+, supported by a Statcast ranking in the pertinent categories of at least 80th percentile, most 88th or higher. Smith will be challenged to match that over a full season, and needs to work on his framing, but he's still one of best hitting catchers in the league, slotting in the meat of the Dodgers' lineup. Despite subpar defense, a case can be made for Smith being the second-best catcher in fantasy.

Austin Riley is the first to come to mind when thinking of players who started hot upon arrival before fading, but Smith followed a similar path. After getting the call to be the Dodgers' primary backstop in late July, Smith went off for nine homers in 19 games, driving in 25 runs in 62 at-bats. He then hit .183/.277/.305 over his final 26 regular-season games and ended his year by going 1-for-13 in the NLCS. Smith's strong strikeout rate from Triple-A did not carry over, as he fanned at a 26.5% clip with the major-league team, though it's important to note that Smith has a history of making adjustments and cutting down on his K-rate in his second go at a level. A first-round pick in 2016, Smith has always been able to take a walk and he's a plus behind the plate. There's upside here but downside too, as the Dodgers may not be patient if Smith starts in a similar fashion to how he finished 2019.